Cargo Claims Guide
The Cargo Claim Process for Motor Carriers, From Day 0 to Day 120
A freight claim just landed on your desk. From the day you receive it, federal rules give you 30 days to acknowledge it in writing and 120 days to pay it, decline it or make a firm offer. Neither clock cares how busy dispatch is.
This guide walks the cargo claim process for motor carriers in date order under 49 CFR Part 370: what counts as a claim, the two deadlines, what to investigate, what to do with damaged freight, and when your cargo insurer needs to hear about it. It's a plain-English summary, not legal advice.
Is it a claim yet? What 49 CFR 370.3 counts as a valid filing
Not every angry email is a claim. FMCSA's rule at 49 CFR 370.3(b) sets the minimum: a written communication from the claimant, filed with a proper carrier inside the time limit in the bill of lading or contract, that does three things.
- 1.Identifies the shipment. It contains facts sufficient to identify the property.
- 2.Asserts liability. It says you are responsible for the alleged loss, damage, injury or delay.
- 3.Asks for money. It makes claim for a specified or determinable amount.
Here's the catch. Paragraph (c) lists papers that don't count standing alone: bad order reports, appraisal reports, inspection reports, and notations of shortage or damage on a freight bill or delivery receipt. So "two pallets crushed" written on the delivery receipt tells you a claim may be coming.
It isn't the claim.
Under 370.3(a), a carrier shall not voluntarily pay a cargo claim unless it was filed the way paragraph (b) describes. The regulation's own example of an uncertain amount is "$100 more or less," and 370.3(d) says you don't pay until a written claim for a specified or determinable amount arrives. Whoever wrote that had clearly read a few claim letters. So when a customer phones and asks you to just send a check, the answer is "put it in writing."
How long does a shipper have to file a cargo claim against a carrier?
The filing period comes from the bill of lading or your contract, not from Part 370. Federal law puts a floor under it: 49 U.S.C. 14706(e)(1) says a carrier may not provide less than 9 months for filing a claim, or less than 2 years for bringing a civil action.
The freight claim time limits, day by day
Once a proper claim arrives, the 49 CFR 370 cargo claims rules hand you a calendar. They cover property moved in interstate or foreign commerce (49 CFR 370.1), and every duty runs from the date of receipt. The statute lets a carrier and shipper expressly waive its rights and remedies in a written contract (49 U.S.C. 14101(b)(1)), so read yours first.
| When | What the rule requires | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| Day 0, the day the claim arrives | Open a separate file, assign the next claim file number in sequence, and record the date of receipt on the face of the claim. | 49 CFR 370.5(b) |
| By day 30 | Acknowledge receipt in writing, unless you've already paid or declined the claim in writing. Say what further documents or information you need. | 49 CFR 370.5(a) |
| From receipt onward | Investigate promptly and thoroughly. | 49 CFR 370.7(a) |
| By day 120 | Pay the claim, decline it, or make a firm compromise settlement offer, in writing. | 49 CFR 370.9(a) |
| Day 120, then every 60 days | If the claim is still open, tell the claimant in writing where it stands and why it's delayed. Keep a copy in the claim file. | 49 CFR 370.9(a) |
| After a written decline | The claimant gets no less than 2 years to sue, computed from the date of your written notice disallowing any part of the claim. | 49 U.S.C. 14706(e)(1) |
A worked example with dates
Say a written claim reaches you on Monday, March 2, 2026. That's day 0. Your acknowledgment is due by Wednesday, April 1. Your written answer is due by Tuesday, June 30. Still open that day? A written status notice goes out on June 30, the next by Saturday, August 29, and another by Wednesday, October 28.
Put the dates in your calendar on day 0. The acknowledgment and the answer can go by email under 49 CFR 390.32, on the conditions in the FAQ below.
Under 14706(e)(2)(A), an offer of compromise is not a disallowance unless you tell the claimant in writing that part of the claim is disallowed and give your reasons. The 2-year period in the table is computed from that written notice. If you mean no, say no, and say why.
How to handle a freight claim investigation
The rule says "promptly and thoroughly."
What the claimant supplies
When supporting documents are a necessary part of the investigation, 49 CFR 370.7(b) names them: the bill of lading, evidence of the freight charges, and the invoice or a certified copy of it. Ask for anything missing in your 30-day acknowledgment.
For a whole package or shipment claimed lost that you can't authenticate another way, 370.7(c) has you obtain the consignee's certified written statement that the property has not been received from any other source.
What your own file should show
Start with your bill of lading. 49 CFR 373.101 lists what a for-hire, non-exempt motor carrier's bill has to carry, including the consignor and consignee, the number of packages and a description of the freight. Then pull the signed delivery receipt with any exceptions noted, photos from pickup and delivery, seal numbers and the driver's written account.
What are you actually deciding?
The legal test comes from the Carmack Amendment, 49 U.S.C. 14706, which makes the carrier liable for the actual loss or injury to the property. In Missouri Pacific Railroad v. Elmore & Stahl (1964), decided under the Carmack Amendment's earlier text, the Supreme Court set the order of proof. Once the shipper has made its case, the burden is on the carrier to show both that it was free from negligence and that the damage was due to one of five excepted causes.
Five causes is a short list.
"The driver did nothing wrong" is half a defense, not a whole one. Our glossary entry on the Carmack Amendment names the five and covers the liability rule and its limits. A disputed cargo claim is a question for a transportation lawyer.
Freight claim salvage: what to do with damaged or refused freight
Freight the consignee refuses is still somebody's property, and 49 CFR 370.11 treats it that way. When goods are damaged, or alleged to be damaged, and are not delivered or are rejected or refused, the carrier works in this order.
- 1.Give notice. Whenever practicable, give due notice to the owner and to other parties that may have an interest in the goods.
- 2.Act unless told otherwise. After notice, and unless you're advised to the contrary, the rule has you sell or dispose of the property, directly or through a competent salvage agent.
- 3.Dispose of it fairly. The manner has to fairly and equally protect the best interests of everyone with an interest in the property.
- 4.Record it. Make an itemized record that ties the property to the shipment and to any claim. Assign each lot a successive lot number.
- 5.Account for the money. When a claim arrives on a shipment with salvage, 370.11(c) has you record the lot number, the amount recovered, and the date you sent that money to the person lawfully entitled to it.
One trap. If the salvage goes to your own agent or employee, or through a salvage company in which the carrier or one or more of its directors, officers, or managers has any interest, 370.11(b) requires your salvage records to fully reflect the particulars.
And quietly sending it home with the dock crew skips steps 1 through 5.
FMCSA's record schedule in Appendix A to 49 CFR Part 379 has you keep the paperwork authorizing disposal of unclaimed, damaged, and refused freight for 3 years.
When to report the claim to your cargo insurer
The claim is against you, not your insurance company. Section 14706 puts the liability on the carrier, and Part 370 addresses its deadlines to "each carrier." Your motor truck cargo policy is a separate contract, and it has its own conditions.
Wisconsin's insurance regulator puts the notice condition in liability policies bluntly in its Consumer's Guide to Commercial Liability Insurance. Business owners have a contractual obligation to inform the insurance company or agent as soon as they become aware of a potential liability claim, and they risk losing coverage if they fail to. That guide is about commercial liability policies in general, so read the notice wording in your own cargo policy.
So on day 0, send a copy of the written claim to your agent or insurer with the bill of lading and the delivery receipt. Do it before you promise the claimant anything and before you write a check. Put three questions in that same email.
- What does my policy say about how soon you need notice, and has this email met it?
- What does the policy say about payments I make, or liability I admit, on my own?
- What is my deductible, and does the policy want notice of a claim that falls under it?
Part 370 never mentions an insurer. Ask the adjuster in writing who is sending the 30-day acknowledgment and the 120-day answer.
The statute mentions the insurer in one place. Under 14706(e)(2)(B), a communication from your insurer is a disallowance only if the insurer says so in writing, gives the reason, and informs the claimant that it is acting on behalf of the carrier.
That's the whole cargo claim process for motor carriers on one calendar. What the policy pays is a separate question, set by its limit, its deductible and its exclusions. Our guide to what motor truck cargo coverage pays walks through that side. If the load came through a freight broker, our guide to a denied contingent cargo claim covers the broker's side.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a motor carrier have to respond to a freight claim?
49 CFR 370.5(a) gives 30 days to acknowledge a proper written claim in writing, unless the carrier has already paid or declined it in writing. 49 CFR 370.9(a) gives 120 days to pay, decline or make a firm compromise settlement offer in writing.
Is a damage note on the delivery receipt a freight claim?
No, not standing alone. 49 CFR 370.3(c) says notations of shortage or damage on freight bills and delivery receipts do not meet the minimum filing requirements by themselves.
Can a carrier acknowledge or decline a freight claim by email?
For the Part 370 paperwork, yes, with conditions. 49 CFR 390.32(b) lets a person or entity that has to generate, maintain or exchange documents under FMCSA's regulations use electronic methods. Paragraph (d) sets the conditions: the records have to be capable of being retained and accurately reproduced, and electronically generated documents need proof of consent to electronic records as required by 15 U.S.C. 7001(c). Keep the claimant's written agreement to handle the claim by email in the claim file.
What happens to damaged freight the consignee refuses?
49 CFR 370.11 covers it. The carrier gives due notice to the owner whenever practicable. Unless advised to the contrary, it sells or disposes of the goods directly or through a competent salvage agent.
Does a letter from my cargo insurer count as my decline of the claim?
Only if it meets 49 U.S.C. 14706(e)(2)(B): the insurer states in writing that the part of the claim is disallowed, gives the reason, and informs the claimant that it is acting on behalf of the carrier.
Got a cargo claim and a question about your policy?
Shopping for cargo coverage? Send us your USDOT number and your current cargo policy's declarations page, and we'll quote it. Already insured through us? Send the written claim and the bill of lading the day the claim arrives.